Fork Stamped Chicken Craft

Summertime in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder tells the adventures of Laura Ingalls as the summer months arrive. This book shows what day to day life on the prairie may have been like for Laura, and shows her daily chores such as tending the garden and getting the eggs from chickens. Even if you don’t have your own chickens to tend, you can still try making this easy fork stamped chicken craft for kids.

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How to Make a Fork Stamped Chicken Craft

It is a fun way to make a connection to the text and explore what life may have been like on the prairie!

Here is what you will need to complete this forked stamped chicken craft:

You can use either plastic or metal forks, it just depends how long you wish to be cleaning up! Plastic forks are nice because you can pitch them when you are done, while metal forks will need to be washed. The choice is yours!

Directions:

Begin by placing a dab of yellow craft glue on a paper plate. This will help make the stamping portion of the craft easier.

Dip the prongs of the fork into the paint so they are covered. Carefully wipe off any dripping paint. You might want to practice stamping with the fork a few times so you can get an idea of how much paint you need as well as how firmly you should press.

Press the paint covered prongs to the scrap paper. Press and stamp several times so you have a puff ball shape. You may need to re-dip into the paint to get this effect. Most of the puff ball shapes will take anywhere from 5-7 stampings.

Continue stamping until you have a full round shape. This will be the body of your chicken. Allow for the paint to dry before proceeding with the facial features. This way, the paint doesn’t smear and become a mess.

Once the paint is dry, you can add a small beak (you can use either orange paint, or give orange craft felt or craft paper a try) as well as two googly eyes to complete the face. If you wish you can also use markers or paint to add legs. You can create one chicken, or keep dipping the fork into the paint and create multiples.

Your fork stamped chicken is now complete. These little chickens probably look like the ones Laura had to gather eggs from in the text!

Enjoy Summertime in the Big Woods, then try making your own fork stamped chickens. It is a fun way to extend the text and experience the story in a hands on way!